Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

by Elizabeth LaBau

Pumpkin shmumpkin. You have months left to enjoy pumpkin desserts! Let’s forgo the gourd for a minute, change it up a little, and say goodbye to the last of the berries with this stunning Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake.

I don’t go around calling things “food porn” on a regular basis, so instead, can we just agree that this cake is, for lack of a better term, a sexy beast? It has a moist, fudgy brownie base, three layers of light mousse—chocolate, raspberry, and vanilla, and then a glossy topping of chocolate and a tangle of raspberries and chocolate curls on top. Oh, behave!

I was so obsessed with the honey mousse I made for these Honey Pots with Honey Mousse, I couldn’t stop thinking of ways to use that quick and easy mousse in other recipes. It turns out it’s easy to adapt that mousse for other flavors, so I made a few tweaks and soon found myself with chocolate, raspberry, and vanilla bean variations. You’ll love it—no separating eggs, no whipping whites or yolks, and no stress.

The mousse is firm enough to hold up in layers and cut cleanly when it’s refrigerated, but as it comes to room temperature, it develops the most delicious silky, pillowy texture. It’s the perfect contrast to the chewy, fudgy brownie base, and the juicy berries embedded in the raspberry layer!

Of course I couldn’t let my tart leave the house naked, so it’s covered in a glossy chocolate ganache that drips just a bit down the sides. You could also cover the sides completely in ganache, so the four layers are a fun surprise when you cut the cake open. I can never resist showing off, so I like to put them on display, but perhaps you are less of a braggart than I am.

Finish the tart with a big pile of fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings. The gold decoration (or “doodad,” as we call them in the biz) was made using this Wilton chocolate mold and then dry-brushing it with gold luster dust. Totally unnecessary, totally cute. (That should be the tagline of my site, yes?)

Enjoy!

Recipe Notes: if you can’t find quality fresh raspberries, you can use frozen to make the puree, and just omit the fresh berries in the mousse layer and on top. You could also substitute strawberries instead. I used acetate cake collars to line the cake pan and get clean lines when unmolding the mousse. They’re inexpensive and very handy for lots of kitchen projects, but if you don’t have them, you can use waxed paper instead. The cake will still unmold, but the outside might not be as neat and clean.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment and spray well with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside for now.

Cube the butter and place it in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally as the butter melts. Add the sugar, and stir until it melts. Don’t allow the mixture to come to a boil.

Remove the pan from the heat, and let it cool to lukewarm. Once it has cooled, add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between each addition. The mixture will start out grainy, but as you add the eggs, it will become shiny and smooth. Whisk the vanilla in. Finally, add the dry ingredients, and stir them in with a spatula.

Scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan, and bake it for 22-24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool the brownie layer completely before proceeding.

To Make the Mousse Layers:

Prepare your pan. You need a 9-inch pan with sides at least 3 inches tall, and the ability to remove the bottom. Either a cake pan with a removable bottom or a springform pan will work. Line the inner wall with a 4-inch high acetate cake collar or strip of aluminum foil or waxed paper. Make sure the acetate or waxed paper is long enough so that it overlaps itself, and if you are using foil/waxed paper, make sure you cut the strip tall enough to extend at least an inch over the pan’s sides, since the cake is about 4 inches tall.

Place a cake cardboard in the bottom of the pan, then carefully place the baked on top of the cardboard. Prepare the chocolate mousse layer: combine the chocolate, ¾ cup of cream, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour it into a large bowl, and let it cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

While you wait for the chocolate mixture to cool, prepare the gelatin. Whisk together the gelatin and the cold water in a small bowl, and set it aside to let the gelatin absorb the water. When the chocolate is at room temperature, microwave the bowl of gelatin for 15 seconds, until it is melted. Whisk the melted gelatin and chocolate together.

Whip the remaining 1 cup heavy cream to firm peaks. Fold half of the whipped cream into the chocolate, and once it’s incorporated, gently fold in the remaining whipped cream. Scrape the mousse on top of the brownie, and spread it into an even layer. Refrigerate the cake for 25 minutes, until the mouse has started to set and is firm enough that a second layer can be added.

For the raspberry mousse, make a quick puree by blending ½ cup fresh raspberries in a blender or food processor. Pour them through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds, and measure out ¼ cup raspberry puree. (If you have extra puree, save it for another use.)

Combine the white chocolate, raspberry puree, ½ cup of heavy cream, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Continue to make this layer the same way you made the chocolate layer, by melting and cooling the chocolate, whisking in melted gelatin, and folding in whipped cream. Add a few drops of pink food coloring to boost the pink color, if desired. At the very end, stir in the remaining 1 cup of fresh raspberries and pour the mousse over the chocolate mousse layer. Spread it into an even layer, and refrigerate again.

Finally, prepare the vanilla bean layer. Combine the white chocolate, ½ cup heavy cream, honey, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Continue to make this layer the same way you made the previous two layers. At the very end, stir in the vanilla bean paste and pour the mousse over the raspberry mousse layer. Refrigerate to set the mousse layers very well, at least 4 hours or overnight.

To finish the cake, push the bottom out from the pan, or unhinge the sides, and unwrap the acetate strip. Transfer the cake to your serving platter. Make a quick chocolate ganache by putting the chopped chocolate in a small bowl and heating the cream to a simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and whisk gently until the chocolate melts and you have a smooth, shiny mixture.

Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, and use a spatula to nudge it right to the edge and over in evenly spaced drizzles. Don’t worry if the top is not smooth—it will be covered up! Add the fresh raspberries and chocolate curls on top of the cake. Refrigerate to set the ganache.

For the cleanest slices, cut the cake when it is well chilled. Use a large sharp knife, and wash it frequently between cuts. For the best taste and texture, allow the cake slices to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Store Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Hah, thanks Sam! Have you seen that ecard that says “They say you are what you eat. That’s funny, I don’t remember eating a sexy beast for breakfast.” That’s what I always think of when I use that phrase!

#nowords I cannot get over how gorgeous this is. This qualifies as a good girl version of food porn if I ever saw it! How did you get your ganache so perfect? You. Are. Amazing. Everything about this is decadent elegance …and totally unnecessarily cute as well. Please tell me you took this somewhere formal! This is dying to be shown off! Pinned!

“A good girl version of food porn”–I love that! Totally stealing that for my site tagline if “Totally unnecessary, totally cute” doesn’t work out. I actually gave it away to friends on paper plates–totally classy, right? At least it kept us from eating it all! But don’t worry, we got our slices in too.

Okay, wow, so… You make gorgeous things on a regular basis, but this is just outrageously pretty. Like “should I even be friends with you” pretty (we can all admit to having thought that about people, yes?).

Now I’m dying for an excuse to make a mousse cake. Hmmm. You never cease to inspire!

Girl, I INVENTED “I don’t want to be friends with you because you make pretty things!” Pettiness and blogging go together like chocolate and raspberries. We can bond over our shared dislike of people more talented than us.

I am trying to think up an excuse for making this right now!! My gosh, it looks and sounds delicious! I am a huge fan of chocolate and when it’s combined with raspberries- orgasmic!! (sugar porn, sexy beast) Thanks for sharing this phenomenal looking dessert (or maybe dinner!!)

It’s the end of berry season–isn’t that reason enough? Or how about the fact that you’ve done something (I’m sure) that deserves a special treat? And YES, have it for dinner–I like the way your mind works!!

This has to be the most stunning cake I’ve ever seen… seriously, how did you make it look so gorgeous??? And I can only imagine how awesome it tastes… three layers of mousse and a brownie? And ganache? And fresh fruit on top? *dies* This sounds too good to be true. Elizabeth, you’re outdone yourself Happy weekend! x

Hi! This cake is gorgeous. I would like to bake this cake to my cousins birthday. I’m from Finland and we use grams and deciliters and I have no idea how to change oz and cups to grams and deciliters. I tried to search the answer from internet but I didn’t find it. Do you know how many deciliters one cup is? I’m sorry my english isn’t perfect but I hope that you understood my question

Hi Sonja! I’m sorry to recipe is so hard to convert! One of my goals is to start writing my recipes in both cups and ounces, but it’s a little inconsistent still. You might already know this cool trick, but in case you don’t, google can actually convert from oz to grams right from the search bar! If, for instance, you enter “8 oz to grams” in the google search box, it will do the calculation for you–no need to go to another website! (This is the case with google.com, I hope it also works for google.fi!) It also works for things like converting F to C, and doing basic math equations. So cool!

As far as liquid ingredients, 1 liquid cup is 8 fluid oz (which is not the same as 8 oz by weight–so annoying, I know!) According to google, 1 cup of liquid (8 fl oz) is 2.36 dl. So if you need 1 1/2 cups cream, that would be 3.5 dl, and for 1 3/4 cup, that would be 4.15 dl. There is actually a little room for error on the cream, so you can be a little imprecise and still have the mousse turn out fine. Are you okay with measuring in teaspoons and tablespoons? (Sorry if that’s an ignorant question–I’m not too familiar with Finnish baking.) If you have more questions, feel free to email me at elizabeth @ sugarhero.com. Thanks for stopping by!

Whoaaa Whoaaaa whoaaaa!!!!! Is this the cutest cake on this planet or what!!!!! I CANNNNNOT stop staring at it! And that chocolate ganache dripping off the sides of the cake? Divine!I’m not sure of the unnecessary part but the tagline should definitely have something related to cute ’cause that’s just how it is! love the raspberries peeking out of the raspberry mousse layer. Pinning!

Hi Elizabeth, This is simply a gorgeous cake! I want to do this for a friend’s birthday. However, I plan on omitting the vanilla mousse and placing the raspberry mousse under the chocolate mousse. My only concern is that the raspberry mousse will be lighter and be ruined by the weight of the chocolate mousse. Do you think it will hold up? Thanks in advance, Valerie

Hi Valerie! I think the raspberry mousse will hold up fine. The whole thing is pretty solid once it’s chilled in the fridge for awhile, so I would definitely cut slices while it’s cold. If the slices sit out at room temp for an extended period, you and your friend might notice that the chocolate mousse is a little heavier, but I don’t think it will make much of a difference overall. Let me know how it goes!

Indeed it did! The chocolate mousse did not ruin the raspberry mousse. However, I am not sure what happened but the raspberry mousse was not a mousse at all. It was quite liquidy and very white in color. I will try it again to see if I can get it properly. I think I will put less white chocolate and more raspberry puree. The rest of the cake was simply delicious and a great success, thank you for the recipe!

Glad to hear that (most) of the cake worked! Sorry the raspberry mousse didn’t turn out. I wouldn’t reduce the white chocolate–that actually helps it to set and gives it some stability. If you do add more puree I would also increase the gelatin, to help offset the extra liquid. Another option is to add some raspberry extract to boost the berry flavor (and maybe a touch of pink food coloring? ) Let me know how it goes!

Hi Fadia, I’m not sure what you mean by ordinary cream–maybe our dairy labels are different. If you use something labeled “whipping cream” that should work fine. I would use something that is at least 30% fat. It’s possible that it will work with a lighter dairy (like half and half) but I haven’t tried it myself so can’t recommend it. Here’s a quick cheat sheet about the different kinds of cream:

Hi Liz, the sugar won’t be smooth once you add it to the butter–it will still be grainy. But as you add the eggs, it should start to smooth out. Whisk well after each egg and keep whisking until it’s gone from grainy to smooth. Hope this helps!

Ok perfect it was smooth, once the eggs were added. I thought I was missing something Thank you for the quick response. I made the brownie portion today, tomorrow making the yummylicious mousses. Loving this page!!

Hi Natalie! I would wait to put the raspberries on top if you were making this more than a day in advance. Not that they will go bad after a day, necessarily, I just think they look freshest (and have less of a tendency to sink or leak into the chocolate topping) if they’re put on the same day the cake is eaten. I would say the biggest factor in determining how far in advance you can make this cake is the brownie layer. Nothing will go *bad* within a few days, but brownies that are refrigerated for a long time tend to get a little stale and dry. I’d say 3 days, 4 max, is how long it can be refrigerated without the brownies starting to suffer. I would wrap it well with cling wrap, and wait to put on the chocolate glaze and the berries until the day of.

Natalie, that is awesome!! I’m so glad it worked out for you and that you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback–I love hearing how my babies are doing out in the world. (And making this for Thanksgiving dessert?! You know how to party! I love it.)

Hi there. I ran into one of your photos on Pinterest this morning. It linked to another blog. The author did identify you as the source of the photo/recipe but I couldn’t locate a link back to you. Just thought you should know.

[…] It’s like choosing a favourite child. I’ll have to say a recent favourite has been this Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake (pictured above). Or if you want something seasonal, I love these Gingerbread Chocolate Chip […]

This cake is phenomenal. I made it for a birthday celebration and everyone loved it and was very impressed with the presentation. I did have trouble with the vanilla mousse and ganache. Neither set, including when placed in the freezer. Any clue what I did wrong? It was almost like the vanilla mousse curdled, but I don’t know why, it was made the same as the other mousse layers which turned out great. I tried adding more gelatin before pouring but it didn’t help at all. The chocolate ganache was so thin and light, nothing like yours. I was fearful it wouldn’t set after my vanilla mousse debacle. I added more chocolate hoping that would help, for a total of 3.5 ounces, but it didn’t really help and it was very light even though I used dark chocolate. I want to make this again but need to figure out where I went wrong with the top two layers.

Hi Emilie, I’m so sorry to hear that you had trouble with the top layers! (But glad that you liked the rest!) It’s hard to know what went wrong with the mousse, especially since you made the others successfully, so it obviously wasn’t that your method was bad. Did you use chopped white chocolate bars, or chocolate chips? I wonder if it has to do with the chocolate you used, perhaps it had a higher concentration of cocoa butter that caused it to curdle? That’s a random guess, though…I’ve made the recipe with both cheap white chocolate chips and Lindt white chocolate bars and haven’t noticed much of a difference.

Regarding the ganache, that’s also really strange. If you used 3.5 oz chocolate to 4 oz cream, that’s almost a 1:1 ratio, which should be plenty thick enough to coat a cake. I was going to suggest checking your chocolate percentage, but you said you used a dark chocolate…and was it heavy cream you used? Nothing light or half-and-half-ish? Did it ever thicken when chilled? Chocolate and cream in a 1:1 ratio should absolutely be set to the touch, or close to, when refrigerated for an hour or two. If it stayed liquid, then something is wrong either with the ingredients or the measuring. Did you use a scale to measure them out? Sorry to ask so many questions–it’s tough to troubleshoot when you can’t see what’s going on.

Hello, I love how the cake looks and attempted to make the cake tonight. But I did not go further than the brownie layer. I made it and it was very thin almost half to the pictured brownie layer. Also, it did not rise at all. I followed the directions, do you have any pointers because I would love to make it again. Thanks

Hi Zorica, So sorry that the brownie layer didn’t work out for you. I’m afraid it’s really hard to troubleshoot from a distance, when I can’t be in the kitchen with you, seeing the ingredients and method used. The three areas to check would be: 1) make sure pan size is correct 2) make sure ingredients were measured properly 3) make sure baking powder is still good. [There's a link explaining how to test baking powder down below.] How did it taste when baked–good flavor and texture, just too short, or strange flavor/texture?

Thanks Elizabeth. I will try again, it may have been the baking powder that is the only thing I can see being. I tasted it and it was delicious. So I will definitely try again because it is a beautiful cake. Have a fabulous day.

Perfect, Zorica! Since it tasted fine it doesn’t sound like you left out an ingredient. Normally I would worry that maybe I had a typo in the recipe, but since several other commenters have made it successfully, it may not be my mistake this time. Please let me know how it goes if you give it another try!!

Hey!!! OMG I just wish I could grab it through the screen and gobble it up. Looks stunning. I just wanted to know whether you could refrigerate it till it sets and then leave it out because I wish to take it to school for my B’day, do you think I’ll be able to leave it out for nearly 6 hrs??? I know I’m insane but is there any way….

Hi Sal! It would *probably* be okay left out for 6 hours, if it was at cool room temperature. [I haven't tried it myself, but this is my guess!] The mousse does get softer as it sits out, but it holds its shape pretty well, so as long as it stayed fairly cool I think you’d be okay! You can also increase the gelatin a little bit to give it more stability. Not too much (you don’t want to give it a jell-o texture!) but something like 2 1/2 tsp per layer instead of 2 tsp might help a bit.

Sorry, but this dessert was a real disappointment. My sister and I are both very experienced cooks, we bought high quality ingredients, and this case tasted like….nothing. It had no flavor. It was the only dessert we made for Thanksgiving, as it was supposed to be the centerpiece, but it was a real bummer. And the directions were not the greatest either. The step for the brownie layer didn’t make sense in some spots. It was pretty to look at, but a huge waste of time and money.

First off, I want to say that this cake looks amazing, and the ingredients sound delish!! I have a huge work event coming up and I’m in charge of everything chocolate. I was recently at a restaurant and they served a chocolate cake like dessert with a raspberry mousse and ganache coat with a raspberry sauce drizzle. Ever since then I’ve been searching for the perfect recipe to recreate, and I think I found it! I do need to ask for a little help though. These desserts need to be bite sized and sort of finger food friendly, so I thought of doing this all in a sheet cake pan, letting it set and using a cookie cutter to make small round bites. Would you have any suggestions for how long I should bake your brownie recipe in a sheet cake pan? If you have any other tips as to a great way to accomplish this that would be amazing. Thank you so much, and I’m very excited to be sampling this recipe as I go!!

Hi Marcy! Thanks for the comment–I love the idea of doing this as a finger food! Two things–you will probably want to double the brownie recipe. Depending on the size of the pan you use, and how thick you want the finished layer to be, you may not want to use all of the batter, but the amount you need for a 9″ pan is less than you would use for a larger rectangular pan. Again the baking time would depend on the size of the pan, but the brownies are pretty forgiving–I’d start checking with a toothpick at 15 minutes, and then check in small intervals after that.

Also, cutting with round cutters may not work if your brownie and mousse layer is tall. Most of my cutters are about 1-1.5″ tall, and it’s hard to get clean cuts if they’re being used to cut something much thicker. You could consider cutting it into small squares instead…maybe top each square with an individual raspberry? Could look very cute!

Feel free to email me if you have any questions or run into any problems! Good luck!

Ok, So I Think My Brownie Layer Turned Out Ok, I Snuck A Bite Off The Corner, It Tasted Delicious But Is It Supposed To Be A Bit Chewy? I Baked The Whole Thing For Roughly 18 Minutes, There Was Just A Small Bit Of Chocolate That Came Out On The End Of The Toothpick. Thanks Again!!

So glad it worked out, Marcy! I wouldn’t say mine was terribly chewy, but it maybe that in baking it thinner the texture got a bit chewier. Hopefully the rest of the cake worked out too? I’d love to hear how it goes

I made your cake this week end for my son’s 15th birthday party and it was amazing! So delicious! Thank you for this wonderful recipe Everyone thought it was yummy but more especially, my son was very happy with it ^^

I can’t wait to make this dessert! I bought a 9 by 3 inch cake pan especially for it, but when I actually measured it, it is more like 2 3/4 inches tall. Is that going to be a problem? I’d really appreciate some advice. Thank you.

Hi Jen! That should be totally fine. I’d just make sure that the cake strips or waxed paper that you line the inside of the pan with extends past the top of the pan about an inch or so, to give you some flexibility if your mousse layers end up being as tall or taller than the pan. Does that make sense?

Hi, very interested in your recipe. I assume you have used US cups. An Australian cup is 250ml, I Googled US cup and came up with 236.59ml. How will I need to change the amount of gelatine to make up for this. Cheers

Hi Annemarie, Do you have a scale available to you? If so, it might be easiest just to do the liquids by weight. Each cup of cream is 8.4 oz (238 g), and doing it by weight eliminates the need to tweak the gelatin content. If you don’t have a scale, I would just increase the gelatin slightly–maybe by 1/4 tsp or so per layer. 14 ml isn’t a huge difference in measurement, and the gelatin is sort of just the failsafe to make sure the layers set (the melted chocolate goes a long way toward making sure they are firm and solid) so there is a little wiggle room in the gelatin measurement.

Also, regarding your question about freezing, my guess is that it will freeze just fine. I haven’t frozen this specific cake, but I have frozen similar mousse cakes and they freeze beautifully. Don’t add the ganache layer before freezing, and make sure the cake is tightly wrapped in cling wrap to prevent odors or freezer burn. Hope this helps!

I just wanted to comment to international folks writing in about measurements. There are actually different tsp and tbsp as well. US and imperial measurements are slightly different, but they are still labeled tsp and tbsp, so it isn’t immediately clear that they have different volumes.

Hi Sandy, Yes, I think it would work in an 11″ pan–the layers will be much thinner and you will need to adjust the brownie baking time, but I don’t see why it would be a problem. It’s a substantial cake and it will definitely feed 9 or more people, easily.

Im all set to make this for a small dinner party and Christmas using 2 – 7″ springform pans. I calculated the area of the 2 pans and will increase all the ingredients by 1/4 to account for the larger area. I have a question, the honey in the vanilla mousse sounds odd but you said you’ve had great success with honey mousse. Is the flavor in that layer more vanilla-ish, whitechocolate-ish, or honey-ish? I will make the dessert tomorrow, serve one and freeze the other for Christmas. I hope it all works! Any suggestions?

I just finished making this beautiful dessert for our christmas dinner, all went well till I added the 2tsp. of vanilla paste which turned the vanilla mousse a light brown. I then read the lable which said that 1 tsp. paste was equal to 3 tsp.extract. I now have 3 times the normal amount of vanilla in my very lovely but very expensive dessert. Do you think it will be ruined? The recipe said 2tsp.paste or extract but the picture showed a lovely creamy color. What should the amount of paste be? Also I wonder if the honey flavor will be overpowered by the strong vanilla flavor.

Hi Carol, I don’t think your dessert will be ruined at all! The 2 tsp vanilla paste is the amount I used in the dessert pictured. I said extract could be used as an alternative if people don’t have paste, but I prefer the paste for the flavor and vanilla bean specks it provides. I didn’t recommend using more extract because I was worried that adding 3x the amount of extract would throw off the liquid volume of the recipe. I’m sorry if the vanilla paste turns out to be too much for you, but I personally liked it and hope you like it too!

Hi Elizabeth, Thankyou for your prompt reply yesterday,it gave me confidence that I didn’t mess up. My family loved it! It was absolutely beautiful and the perfect ending to a wonderful day. I am anxious to try some of your other showstopping desserts. Thanks again and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

Carol, I’m so glad to hear that! So happy that the dessert turned out and that it was a hit. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well! Thanks for stopping by, and come back anytime for more desserts. Take care!

Oh Elizabeth, this is absolutely gorgeous! i am looking for a recipe for my sister’s birthday cake and this sweet baby (yes, you and the cake,honey:P) has captured me 100%.You know what, the Chinese New Year is around the corner and for more than 15 years, it will be the first time my whole family come to my place to have a reunion dinner next Thur! I will present this cake to my beloved sister during the party!

And I will also try to make your version of nutella crepe cake for a friend that visit me from abroad next Wed! Will give you a full report afterward!

I made this on the weekend for my husband (no particular reason). I made it in an 8″ tin and had enough left over for 3 glasses as well. I couldn’t find raspberries so used strawbs intead. The only change I would make in that instance is using a little food colouring because the strawb colour was a little light and didn’t pop.

Ohmegawd I am in love! The top layer was definitely my favourite and I will use that as a side for other desserts. Like little honey clouds! The cake lasted 3 days (between two of us). Many thanks for the recipe, from your newest fan!

Thanks Bek! First of all, how lucky is your husband, to get this cake for no reason at all?! So glad that you enjoyed the cake, and I love the sound of a strawberry layer! Thanks so much for the comment!

Hi May! Doubling it is a good idea. You’ll have a little left over, but it’s easier to get good coverage if you have a generous amount of glaze. You may also want to use more chocolate, since you want it to adhere to the sides rather than drip artfully down. Try 8 oz chopped chocolate and 8 oz heavy cream. Please let me know how it turns out!

I made this cake last night and it was delicious! It looks hard to make but it just takes time, the steps are quite simple. Also having a spring form pan made it VERY easy! I used wax paper around the edge and it came out perfect. My raspberry layer did not come out that pink, so I would add a little extra puree next time and also it took more than 1/2 cups raspberries to get the 1/4 cup puree after separating the seeds. DELISH!

Liz, So glad to hear that the cake worked out well for you! I’ve had a few other folks mention that they got a lighter pink color–maybe my berries were a weird extra-pigmented variety or something. I should add a note to the recipe suggesting people use a little extra puree or a drop or two of pink coloring if desired.

I just made this dessert, and am soooo looking forward to trying it! My raspberry layer isn’t as pink as your photo, either. Just to clarify… the total amount of raspberries is 1 1/2 cups, but only 1/2 cup goes into the purée, and the other cup of berries is folded into the mousse, correct? I think I lost some of the colour when the purée was heated with the chocolate–would it work to add the purée after the chocolate-cream mixture was melted?

Hi Casey, Yep, 1/2 cup goes into making the puree (so you’re only using 1/4 cup of liquid puree, once they’re blended) and the rest is folded into the mousse. In rereading this comment thread, I’d misunderstood the earlier comment and I think my reply was confusing–it’s edited now.

To answer your question, you could add the puree after the chocolate is melted, as long as it’s at room temperature and not cold, it should be fine. Another thing to try is starting out with 1/2 cup of puree (so maybe from about 1 cup of berries) and reducing it down to 1/4 cup by boiling it over low heat until half the volume evaporates. This would give you a darker color and a stronger raspberry taste as well. Or you could try pulverizing some freeze-dried raspberries and adding the powder to the mousse–that would also give extra color + flavor!

I made this last night for fiancee bday, I forgot to buy rasberries but had heaps of strawberries in my fridge so made it with them and it was divine!!! All layers were beautiful and I wouldn’t hesitate to make again

I made this for my friend’s birthday! I just finished the top layer and am letting it sit in the fridge overnight. I had to make a few substitutions but I’m excited to see how it turns out!

I did have some trouble with the raspberry layer, though. When I folded in the whipped cream, it looked really grainy and bizarre. It was as though the raspberry/chocolate mixture didn’t want to mix with the cream. Thankfully it set fine, but it doesn’t look smooth.

I also found that the brownie batter was too thick, but I didn’t change anything. It turned out thinner than your photos but I’m sure it’ll be delicious.

Thanks for the feedback, Charlotte! I’d love to know what you think once you give it a taste. Sorry to hear that the raspberry layer separated on you! The cream should have been folded in before the raspberries, so if you did it backwards like the comment suggests, perhaps that’s the reason. Hopefully it still tastes fine!

This looks AWESOME! This is one of my goals. I think this is the one thing i want to make most. It looks very challenging and more time consuming than anything i’ve baked before. One day i will make this!

Thanks Jess! It is time consuming but since all of the mousse layers are basically the same procedure, if you can do one, you can do them all! Feel free to drop me an email if you decide to tackle it and have any questions!

This is a great recipe. I just made it as a birthday cake for my mom. It was so delicious except there is something wrong with the brownie layer. 22 minutes is not enough to bake it, so I baked it until there are a few crumbs on the toothpick. It turned out to be very hard.

Hi Dianna, Happy birthday! A strawberry variation sounds delicious. I’d estimate about 4 hours, but only half of that is active time–the rest is baking, cooling, or chilling time between assembling the layers. You’ll also need to let the whole thing chill together for 3-4 hours after it’s assembled to make sure it’s firm enough to slice.

This looks amazing I’m going to make this for my husbands birthday!! One quick question what kind of cling wrap do you use? And do I put the cling wrap first then the cake collar, then the brownie? and do i do this with the other layers as well?

Hi Sonia, any plastic wrap should work–I use a generic version of Saran Wrap. You should extend the cling wrap along the bottom and up the sides of the pan, then put the cake collar in the pan, then the brownie and mousse layers go inside the collar. The cling wrap is basically to help you lift the cake neatly out of the pan, it can probably be omitted if you want. I always err on the side of caution.

Hi Nedra! I think the mousse would work as a filling if you used a buttercream dam. (If you don’t know what I mean, that means you pipe a layer of buttercream around the outside of the cake and put the mousse in the center, so that it doesn’t squish out. Once chilled they should be okay to cut etc. They will get softer if left at room temperature for a long time, so probably best not to make it for a really hot day or an outdoor event.

I am half way threw, chilling the raspberry layer now,and so far it is looking awesome (and of course I am test tasting too and it is yummy)It’s for my baby girl’s 21st birthday tomorrow and your recipe had all her favorites- brownies,raspberries, chocolate and mousse. I will let you know how it turned out. Thank you Thank you Thank you I am confidant she is going to be blown away!

Hi, Unfortunately this particular mousse recipe requires gelatin–the mousse will be soft and won’t set without it. I know agar-agar can sometimes be substituted for gelatin, but I haven’t tried it in this mousse and can’t confidently recommend it or advise on quantities.

Made this for Easter dessert…got rave reviews. Note to other bakers: don’t use frozen raspberries in the mousse…opt for fresh. My first batch of the raspberry mousse separated when I added some semi-frozen fruit. Oops! Other than that, the recipe was great.

Hi,I made this on the weekend and have to say it looked just as gorgeous as yours. I just have two questions. Does it have to have gelatin? I thought it tasted abit rubbery and not fluffy. The raspberry section was very pale, blended in with the white,should I have added more raspberries? Do u think you could do a middle layer with Mars bars chopped up in it? It’s my bosses farewell and I want to make this for her but she loves caramel. Any suggestions welcome.

Hi Lyanne, unfortunately the gelatin is necessary, especially if you want to be able to cut the cake into neat slices and have it hold its shape. You can try reducing the amount to get a texture you like better–I’d try only reducing about 1/2 tsp or so at first, to make sure it still sets. You can DEFINITELY do Mars bars chopped up in the middle–that sounds awesome! It might be a bit of a mess to cut, but keeping the bars in small pieces would probably help with that. I’d love to hear how it goes if you give it a try!

This looks spectacular! and one can tell from the ingredients that it must taste sooo good. I am intrigued by the simplicity of making the different flavor mousses. I am going to try this at the lodge where I work. I have 10 stainless steel rings that will be perfect to use, and should preserve the beautiful view of the side of the cakes.

This looks incredible! I plan on making it for my husband for his birthday. Just one question – with the brownie layer, do I make it IN the springform pan I will be using for the entire cake, or do I bake the brownie in a separate 9″ pan and then move it into the 9″ springform? Silly question, but I am just unclear on that. Thanks so much – so excited to make this!

Thanks Marin! The brownie can be made in any 9″ pan. The springform pan that the cake is assembled in needs to have the plastic wrap and cake liner in it before you assemble it, so you can’t just bake the brownies in it and pour the mousse on top–at least if you want the cleanest lines around the edges.

Hi Jess, after refrigeration the cake is pretty firm and can be easily handled without the brownie cracking. (Assuming you’re not, like, juggling it or something.) I typically use a metal spatula and slide it under the brownie, then scoot it onto a cardboard cake round and off of the cling wrap-covered bottom of the pan. You can also scoot it directly onto the serving plate, but I always prefer to use a cardboard round just because it makes it easier to store/transfer to other plates/etc. Just personal preference. Does that make sense?

Could you please give me the weight amounts in grams? It is really worrying that when I try to convert the amounts given both in ounces and cups (e. g. cocoa powder) first from the oz amount, then from the cup amount, I get two different gram values. So which one should I take as the correct amount? This cup thing is always so annoying and confusing. Thanks.

Hi Miki, You’re right, cups are frustrating! I develop all of my recipes using ounces, so I would recommend using the ounces to convert the recipe to grams. I do still provide cups because so many of my US-based readers request them.

And for cocoa powder especially, it is difficult because I’ve found a wide range of weights depending on the brand and how much it is packed into the cup. For the brand I use, I assume a standard of 3 oz to 1 cup, but it can definitely vary–so please do use ounces as your conversion source!

Hi, I started making your beautiful cake last night for my husbands birthday… I’ve just realised I used milk chocolate for the first mousse layer though? Will this still be ok? Or do you think it will be too sweet? Also, my mousse seemed very runny when I poured it on top of the brownie, it has set fine, but I’m worried that it has leaked down the sides of the pan? Is your mousse usually quite firm already before you add it to the cake?

Hi Jayne! I think the milk chocolate will be fine! It will be sweet, yes, but I think the chocolate of the brownie and the tart raspberry will balance it out. And yes, the mousse is generally fairly soft/runny when it’s made, then the chocolate + gelatin help it set once it’s chilled. Did you line the pan with a cake collar made from acetate or waxed paper? That usually helps to keep it from leaking down the sides of the cake. If it has leaked, you can either cover the whole thing with chocolate glaze, or take a paring knife and scrape the mousse away from the brownie–once it’s set, it’s a pretty easy thing to clean up. Happy birthday to your hubby!!

Just wanted to let you know the cake was fantastic… My husband loved it! And so did our family I did cover it all in ganache, though it didn’t really leak at all… It just wasn’t quite as neat as yours! Thanks again for the recipe. I’m sure I’ll make it again one day!!

Hi, I was looking at your recipe to make for my friend’s bday. I think it all sounds good except he is not a big fan of white chocolate. Is there a way I can make it without the white chocolate or a substitute for the white chocolate or more of something else?

Hi Darice, You will need some kind of chocolate in the recipe so that the mousse will set. I don’t think the raspberry layer tastes much like white chocolate (the berry flavor tends to cover it), so you’re probably good leaving that layer alone. To change up the white chocolate layer, you could use milk chocolate instead, so your layers are milk/raspberry/dark chocolate. You could also do two raspberry layers instead, and arrange them berry/chocolate/berry/brownie base–that would look kind of cool!

Thank you very much. I am curious if the vanilla bean flavor is strong enough so you can’t taste the white chocolate in that layer? If it is, I may just go with what you originally said to do. I was wondering also if there is a way i can maybe do a vanilla bean/milk chocolate swirl or raspberry/milk chocolate swirl or coffee/milk chocolate swirl for the top instead of vanilla/white chocolate?

Well, my personal opinion is that the white chocolate flavor is overshadowed by the vanilla–especially if you use vanilla paste or a real vanilla bean, those are pretty strong and give the mousse a strong vanilla flavor. Just using extract probably won’t give you a good result…and if your friend truly doesn’t like white chocolate, just masking it with vanilla might not be enough.

Coffee is a great suggestion, assuming you like the thought of coffee and raspberries together. It’s a strong flavor that’s easy to add to the mousse. You can either add some coffee liqueur or coffee extract to the mousse in place of the vanilla, or dissolve some instant espresso in a spoonful or two of water and mix that in.

This mousse cake looks incredible! Did you make the entire thing in one day, or over a few? I would love to make it, but am curious how long it took to do the entire thing? Hope to hear from you, thanks

Thank you Katie! If I recall, I made it in one day and then glazed/cut/photographed it the next. It is not terribly complicated but there is a LOT of chilling time involved, both between the layers and then when the cake is fully assembled, so I would say you need either a full afternoon/evening to make it and then chill it overnight, or to do it in 2 days. I would say the split looks something like this: make/bake/cool brownie: 1.5 hours (if you cool it in the fridge), each mousse layer: 1 hour (that’s prep and chilling time) and then at least 4 hours once all 3 mousse layers are added. After that, the glaze is fast, and it probably only needs to be chilled for about 15 minutes to set the glaze before you can serve it. Does that help?

This cake is amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe! I didn’t have a tall enough spring form pan to do all three layers, so I made the brownie, chocolate mousse, and then added fresh raspberries to the vanilla mousse layer, to get a little of everything. It’s not as pretty without the pink mousse, but I served it at a birthday party and was told by more than one person that it’s their favorite cake of all time. High praise. Again, thank you.

I want to make this cake but am unsure of were I can find a cake collar. Can I just make the cake and grease the pan and putt everything in it. I have a springform pan, can i just smoothly take the cake out as i would a cheesecake?

Hi, I would recommend lining the sides of the pan with a ring of waxed paper or parchment paper if you can’t find a cake collar. The finish won’t be as clean as the acetate, but I think it will be cleaner than you would get if you just greased the sides.

This was a fairly easy, but impressive looking cake! Love the combination of easy & impressive. Everyone loved it and thought it was amazing. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Look forward to making it again and trying variations, such as with strawberries or blueberries, or even mint chocolate. Wonderful!!

Hello, lovely and beautiful cake. Mousse is my all time favorite and I would love to make this cake. I was wondering how tall the cake is exactly. I have a nine inch spring form that’s no higher than 3 inches and I was wondering if I could use the cake collar to make the cake higher?

Hi Laura, I made mine in a 9×3-inch cake pan with a removable bottom (not a springform, but close enough) and the cake came right up to the top of the pan. So if your pan’s sides are 3″ you should be fine. If you’re worried it’s a little short, you can definitely use a 3″ or 4″ collar to extend the height and give yourself some wiggle room. Let me know how it goes if you give it a try!!

I made this cake for my husband on his birthday. The vanilla and raspberry layers weren’t as firm as the chocolate layer, it melted quite quickly when i left it out for about 10 mins. Is it because i did not whip the heavy cream enough? Because the first time it whipped up quite nicely but not the 2nd and 3rd batch, it’s quite watery.

And my ganache hardened n it made it difficult to cut, can you please advise me how to make a softer one? Do i add more heavy cream?

Hi Catee, yes, it sounds like the cream might have been the problem. It does need to be quite stiff for this recipe to work–one good test is if you stick the whisk in the cream and turn the bowl upside-down, the whisk should stay embedded in the cream and not fall out. (Don’t test this unless you’re reasonably sure it’ll work, and you have fast reflexes in case it doesn’t, though!) I always like to use pasteurized heavy cream (as opposed to ultra-pasteurized) and try to find one with the highest fat % possible–this makes it whip up nicer.

For softer ganache, more cream is key. You can experiment with adding another spoonful or two to get a texture you like. Good luck!

Thanks! I will take your advice by using pasteurized heavy cream if i could find it in Singapore (given the little time i have now). And add more cream in the ganache.

By the way i forgot to mention this time round my husband and family encourage me to do it again for my 2 years old twins nephew! Their birthday fall on this Saturday. My husband and family really like the taste, thanks to you!

That is awesome, so glad to hear it! I hope it works out, and happy birthday to your nephews! One more thing I thought of: Another trick to getting properly whipped cream is to make sure that the bowl and whisk attachment you’re using to whip it is very cold (chill them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before whipping) and that the cream is very cold too. Hopefully this helps!

Yup i did, i chilled the bowl and the attachment, i even put a bowl of ice underneath the bowl of cream, just to make sure, hahaha and it worked! This was the first time i managed to whip the cream up nicely! by the way i skipped the ganache cos i got no time D: so i just added some colorful birthday icing decoration on top of the vanilla layer.

I’m so glad it worked out, and I hope you enjoy it! The assembly and decorating process is definitely something that gets easier with time and practice…and I’ll bet it only takes 1 taste to get people to forget about looks and go back for seconds! Thanks for the comments, Debra.

Hi! This looks absolutely amazing and I really want to try it but I was wondering how thick the acetate collar ideally needs to be? I’ve found one that is 6cm wide but as the picture makes the cake look quite thick, I wasn’t sure if 6cm would be wide enough…

Hi Emmz, Do you mean how tall does the collar need to be? 6 cm isn’t tall enough. The pan you assemble it in should be at least 3 inches (7.62 cm) tall, and I like to use collars that are 4 inches (10 cm) tall, just in case. I’ve provided a link to some 4 inch collars down below, or you can always line the edge of the pan with foil, parchment, or waxed paper. I prefer the collars because they’re totally smooth and won’t leave marks or ridges on the sides of the cake, but if you don’t mind some ridges, foil or parchment are fine substitutes.

Hello! This cake is amazing….I’ve made it twice now & had rave reviews both times!! First time I made it in individual Chicago Metallic loose base mini round tins….they were a bit fiddly…trying to get even quantities of moussse in each one, but the looked very petite & cute! Last week I did it in a large rectangle cake tin & cut it into mini rectangle individual cakes & then put the chocolate ganache & decorated each one. Cut perfectly & looked very professional….a friend thought I had bought them!! I’ve got a dinner party coming up in a couple of weeks & wondered if this recipe would freeze? I was gonna try it myself anyway, but wondered if you have ever frozen it? I’m gonna experiment with different mousse flavours also. Probably keep the 2 chocolate layers the same but try different flavours instead of the raspberry….passionfruit, mint, coffee, pistachio?? Be interesting to see what I can come up with! Thanks for the awesome recipes!

Hi, So glad to hear that you love the cake! I think these would be so adorable as mini desserts–I’d love a photo to post on the SugarHero facebook page, if you happened to get one!

I haven’t frozen this exact recipe, but I’ve frozen the mousse components before in another form, and they actually froze really well. So my guess is that you’d be good to go, as long as it was well-wrapped to prevent freezer burn, but I’d love to hear how it works out if you give it a try! And YES to passion fruit mousse–that’s my very favorite flavor!

I want to try and make this cake for my daughter for her birthday using a spring firm pan. I’m a bit confused about how to line it. do you line just the bottom round circle part with pladtic wrap and then wrap the inside collar with wax paper all around? Please help! Thank you😀

Hi Nina! What I did was line the pan with plastic wrap on the bottom, extending all the way up and over the sides. Then the acetate collar/waxed paper collar goes inside that, and the cake is assembled inside the collar. You can do it differently if you like, but I like the security of having the whole pan line with plastic wrap in case some of the mousse leaks out from the collar–this doesn’t often happen, but if it does you still know that the cake will remove cleanly from the pan. Hope this makes sense–let me know how it turns out!

Hi, you’re right that I don’t call for extra sugar to be added to the mousses. All of the layers call for some form of chocolate (either semi-sweet or white, which has quite a bit of sugar) and then the vanilla layer also calls for honey. If the sweetness from the chocolate isn’t enough for you, adding sugar to the cream before you whip it is a great idea!

Hi Ally, the plastic wrap is just extra insurance. What I did was line the pan with plastic wrap on the bottom, extending all the way up and over the sides. Then the acetate collar/waxed paper collar goes inside that, and the cake is assembled inside the collar. You can do it differently if you like, but I like the security of having the whole pan line with plastic wrap in case some of the mousse leaks out from the collar–this doesn’t often happen, but if it does you still know that the cake will remove cleanly from the pan. Hope this makes sense–let me know how it turns out!

beautiful cake, love, congratulations I want to do for my birthday But I have two questions: - I can replace them with fresh raspberries frozen in raspberry mousse? - For powdered gelatin, what is the equivalence sheet?

Fresh raspberries can definitely be substituted for the frozen ones–it will probably taste better, too!

As far as the gelatin, I don’t normally use sheet gelatin, and haven’t tested the recipe using it. As you might know, there are different strengths of sheet gelatin and that can influence how much you should use–so unfortunately there’s not a hard and fast rule for substitution. Here’s a good discussion of sheet gelatin from pastry chef David Lebovitz:

He says that he likes to use 3.5 sheets per envelope, which is 2.5 tsp. That might be one place to start experimenting. Again, I haven’t tried it myself, and can’t guarantee that it will produce the same results as powdered gelatin.

Hi Sarah! I’d say a 3-inch springform would work well. If you use 3 or 4-inch acetate cake strips, the pan can be even shorter because the strips will hold everything together nicely. If you’re using waxed paper or parchment then they’re not as strong and I wouldn’t recommend using them with a shorter pan.

Great suggestion! I found one! I’m going to make this for a party Sunday night but I’ll have to make it Saturday night because I won’t have time Sunday day. I know it said let it set overnight but will it be ok in the refrigerator for a full 24 hours uncovered or should I try and put some saran wrap over it or something?

Hello! Lovely recipe! Planned on following to a tee for Christmas dinnet, but I just received word that a new mommy to be is looking forward to cheesecake. Would you say that adding some cream cheese into the raspberry mousse layer would not turn out so well? Or perhaps recommend adding some into each mousse layer? Or not at all?

Hi Claudia! I haven’t tried it that way. My complete guess is that it would be okay as long as you kept it chilled, since the cream cheese holds it shape pretty well when cool. If you wanted to incorporate it I’d recommend beating it into the whipped cream portion of the mousse, as described in this blog post:

So ive read through almost ALL the comments..I didnt wanna re ask a question thats been answered several times…Im actually really surprised that no one asked this….Where the crap do you find Vanilla Bean Paste?? I saw that people substituted it with Vanilla Extract…Usually I would do that but I am not making a trial run cake so I just wanna use the exact Ingredients..

Hi Dani! First off, it’s amazing that you read through all the comments, thank you! I appreciate the attention to detail. Secondly, vanilla bean paste can be found at some specialty food stores, kitchen supply stores, cake stores, etc. I know Whole Foods carries it, and my guess is that Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table carry it too. Nielsen Massey is the most common brand–they make vanilla extract and vanilla powder as well. It’s also found online, like on Amazon. It’s usually in the $10-12/bottle range, which is why many people substitute vanilla extract instead!

This cake is in my fridge setting for Christmas lunch tomorrow. The recipe was easy to follow and barring any disasters will be fantastic tomorrow. I know it tastes good because I licked the spoon on each layer

hiya, i made this cake for my moms birthday and used a 3 inch spring pan and followed the recipe exact and could not fit in the vanilla layer as the raspberry mousse came all the way to the top of the pan. wondering what i did wrong?

Mine did the same thing.. What I did was when I lined the pan with parchment paper I didn’t tuck it over the sides and I left it sticking straight up. It was strong enough to hold the vanilla layer without making it bubble out weird towards the top. When I took it all apart once it was done you would never be able to tell that it didn’t originally fit

I just allready meet to you and i have to say that it was a great discover because, i love your blog and your recipes. This recipe it`s marvellous so it is just on my favourites recipes. Thanks for it! P.D. sorry if my english is not so correcta;D but i`m following to you fron Canary Island (Spain)

This is so gorgeous! I am on a search for a strawberry mousse that will hold up well in a layer cake. I usually torte my cakes and so there will be 3 layers of mousse per tier. Being a wedding cake I want it to look beautiful as it’s being sliced and served. Will it hold up at room temperature? Thanks!

Hi Nancy, Thank you! The mousse does hold up fairly well at room temperature. I would say that if it’s going to have to support a lot of layers/weight and/or be at warm room temperature for many hours, I might be a little nervous. In general because of the white chocolate content and the gelatin it’s pretty stable, but I would definitely err on the side of caution and do a test run first. I used this same recipe to make other fruit flavors and assemble a really tall mousse cake a few months ago, and it held up beautifully. You can see some pics of how it did here:

Mmm, good question! Almond would probably be my #1 recommendation, because it plays so nicely with chocolate and raspberry flavors. Other fruit flavors might work well, like coconut–basically anything that won’t overpower or clash with the raspberry (coffee for instance.)

Fun! You can make them up to a week ahead of time. I would recommend not adding the ganache until the very end, if you can. That way you can wrap them well in plastic wrap (after the mousse has set) to keep them as fresh as possible, then the day of add the ganache layer once the cake is unwrapped. You can also freeze them if you have the space. Keep them well-wrapped, of course, and let them defrost in the fridge overnight before adding the ganache the next day. Good luck, let me know how it goes!

Amazing looking cake. Made it last night and it looks good. However I think your ganache recipe is a little off. It looks like chocolate milk. I am thinking the 2-1 cream to chocolate ratio is off. Or there is always the more likely possibility that I made a mistake somewhere.

Thanks Matt! Sorry to hear the ganache recipe didn’t work out for you. I doubt you did anything wrong, my guess is that it’s just a difference in the chocolates we used; perhaps mine had a higher percentage of cocoa solids which caused it to be thicker, or maybe I poured it when it was much cooler. Regardless, I think you’re right in that the recipe could be tweaked to make it more foolproof for everyone, so I’ve made a switch and recommend if you try it again to do closer to a 1:1 ratio to make sure the ganache works out. Thanks for the feedback!

So I made this cake on Saturday. It is absolutely stunning and will definitely impress your guests.

What I was less pleased with was the texture of the two “white” mousse layers. The texture is in between panna cotta and mousse…just too firm in my opinion. It kind of made the delicious decadent dark chocolate layers stand out instead of come together.

I would recommend decreasing the amount of gelatin next time, maybe even by half!

Thank you for sharing though! I will definitely make it again with some changes.

Hi Livia, Thanks for the feedback, and I’m glad the recipe worked out! It’s funny that you mention the firm texture of the two white chocolate layers, because in my experience it’s been the chocolate layer that’s firmer–that’s why I changed the recipe to use more cream in the chocolate than the white chocolate layers. It might be a difference in our ingredients used, or just personal taste. At any rate, you can definitely decrease the gelatin amount, or consider increasing the cream instead–either should give you a softer texture. Happy experimenting!

Hello!. I made this dessert and loved it, i’m actually thinking of using the mousse recipe to make a alternating layer using the vanilla mousse with white fluffy cake. But i had a problem with the raspberry layer just like another person, the mousse curdled! i was disappointed a bit, but it tasted great! and by the next morning the whole cake was nice and firm! P.S: just discovered your blog and i will be browsing it from now on.

Hello Sinai! Thanks for commenting, and I’m so glad that you enjoyed the cake, even with the raspberry layer not working properly. I think the vanilla mousse + vanilla cake idea sounds great! I’d love to hear how it turns out if you give it a try!

Hello, I have made this luscious desert twice now and it came out absolutely perfect. If your having trouble with the white choc layers, it may be the choc your using. I use the Ghirardelli white choc bars, not chips, and had no problem at all. The other thing is maybe the white choc is getting overheated. It doesn’t take long to heat in the micro and when I take it out and whisk it there are still pieces of choc that haven’t quite melted yet. But after whisking a little longer it melts down. I have overheated regular choc before and had it start to crystallize. Hope this helps. And Thank You Elizabeth for this heavenly recipe. It made me a rock star!!!

Hi Susan, Unfortunately, the mousses won’t work well if made ahead of time–once they’ve set, they don’t spread well and you’ll lose a lot of the texture if you try to do it that way. You could do the brownie the day before and then do all of the mousses in one evening. If you’re able to be prepping the next mousse layer while the first one chills, you can probably do all 3 mousse layers in around 2 hours, or maybe less. I hope this helps–let me know how it goes!

Hi all! I am assuming that when you say it’s thick/strong enough to hold up in layers you are referring to layers of mousse. How do you think the chocolate only would do between layers of cake? They would be the standard size of a small round cake pan (with the top & edges trimmed off). I am also wondering about the hot ganache (unless it’s not hot ??) and if it would turn the mousse to liquid. Obviously you had no problem here with that, but didn’t know if there were any special tips I am also worried that if I do end up using it between cake layers that it would become too soft once room temp. I’m trying to make this cake by tomorrow, so I doubt I’ll get a response in time but worth a shot!!! Thank you!!!

Naomi, I’m so sorry for the delayed response! I have an overactive spam catcher so I didn’t see this comment until I cleaned out my spam filter this weekend. I assume it’s too late, but in case it’s not, I think the chocolate layer will be just fine. It’s the stiffest one of the three and I’ve used it between cake layers myself with zero problems. Unless it’s reaaally warm where you are and it sits at room temp for hours, you should be fine. And the ganache on top of the mousse isn’t a problem, as long as you pour it over the cake straight from the fridge. If you have given it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes!

Making this recipe tonight for my mom’s birthday party. The first two chocolate layers worked out great but the two layers with white chocolate would curdle after mixing the melted and cooled chocolate and the whipped cream together. Everything seems to taste fine but it definitely does not look as appetizing as yours did. Any advice on how to fix this or why it happens?

Brianna, mine went curdled too. It looked fine while I was folding in the whipped cream. Maybe I folded too much or too aggressively? But it suddenly went all curdled looking. It tastes great, but same, it won’t be as pretty.

Hi Lisa! I think a 10″ pan would be perfectly fine. The layers will be a little thinner but I don’t think that it will seem too short or squat. I would just make it as-is. I’d love to hear how it goes once you make it! Happy birthday to your son!